See Also

John Holland-Kaye, the airport's development director said: "The Queen opened the original Terminal 2 more than half a century ago and we're delighted that Her Majesty has kindly agreed to give her name to the new Terminal 2.

"Everyone at Heathrow is extremely proud of our long association with The Queen and we know the new Terminal 2 will be a fitting continuation of that tradition."

The Queen opened the old Terminal 2 – then called the Europa Building – in 1955 just two years after her coronation.

Planners describe the new Terminal 2 as "similar in feel" to Terminal 5, which opened to much fanfare – as well as a series of public relations disasters – in 2008.

Terminal 2 is due to be completed in November this year, then submitted to several months of testing before its scheduled opening date of June 4, 2014.

Other links between the Queen and Heathrow

In 1952, the former Princess Elizabeth returned to Heathrow from a trip to Kenya as Queen, after her father, George VI, died.

In 1955 The Queen opened Heathrow's first permanent passenger terminal, called the Europa Building. This was later renamed Terminal 2.

She also opened the Queen's Building and the airport's original control tower.

In 1969, the Queen inaugurated Terminal 1.

In 1977, the Queen opened the London Underground connection between central London and Heathrow, described by the airport as "the first link of its kind to connect a capital city with its major airport".

In 2008, the Queen opened yet another terminal, this time the new Terminal 5.